Life's Little Lessons

Sun, 2014-01-05 02:29 | Raeyn

((What was their education like?))

"Oh gosh, um…well, G’ma taught me all -sorts- of things, like…cooking and cleaning and taking care of my clothing and…did you mean magic-wise? That’s a little different! She taught me how to do simple things, but mostly? She taught me control. G’ma wasn’t fond of using magic,even if we could."

"Lai-Ning!""I’m s-sorry, G’ma! I-""You used magic! I can smell it! You -know- how I feel about that!""G’ma, I didn’t me-""Go to your room, this instant!"

Lan-Lie gazed down at the charred mess on the floor as her granddaughter ran up the stairs behind her. She heard the quiet sob before the door closed behind the cub, and her shoulders slumped.

Lai-Ning had looked just as shocked as she had felt when the tablecloth went up in flames in her paws…and neither of them had been hurt. The fire had died out almost as soon as it had started.

'You knew this was going to come up. Don't punish her for something she can't control.'

She swept up the remnants of the tablecloth, collecting herself, before making her way up to the closed door.

"Lai-Ning…may I come in?"

No answer, but she could hear the soft crying coming from inside. She pushed open the door, setting herself on the edge of the bed where the cub was curled up, face buried in her knees.

Lai-Ning sniffled, nodding as she lifted her head. “..Y-yes…I was just…just folding the cloth, like you asked and…and then it just…my head hurt and..and my paws started burning and..”

Shaking her head, Lan-Lie patted her lap. Her granddaughter climbed up, hiccuping softly. With a gentle sigh, the elder rubbed her back soothingly.

"…that just means…that I have to start teaching you more things. You have magic, but you don’t have control over it. We can work on that together."

The cub sniffled, rubbing her paws into her eyes. “I…I’m still not supposed to use magic…’m sorry, G’ma…”

"Only because you scared me, little one! I don’t want you to hurt yourself!""Is…is that why you don’t use it, G’ma?"

Lan-Lie took a deep breath. “I don’t use it because there is almost nothing you can do with magic that you can’t do by yourself normally.”

"…really, G’ma?""Yes, little one. Magic is something very precious, yes, but it doesn’t need to be the solution for everything. And especially if it does what we don’t expect at the wrong time, right?""…uh huh…"

Smiling, the elder tilted the cubs chin up, wiping her eyes gently.

"No more tears, my sweet Lai-Ning. They don’t suit you at all! Now…how about we go downstairs, finish cleaning up, and maybe..just maybe, try a new lesson…"